Between PML(N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s well-timed isolation from the finance script played out by Islamabad and the former first son-in-law Captain Safdar’s intense thrashing of his own party mantra “Vote ko Izzat Do,” every passing day showers yet another thorn in the side of the House of Sharif. As the higher leadership is becoming increasingly aware of the political quagmire they have landed in wherein the policies of the state are bound to burn through their electoral capital in the upcoming election season, the cracks are hard to miss. The gallantry of three mavericks on their countrywide tour; holding seminars on how to steer through choppy waters in a “reimagin(ed)” Pakistan, in the meantime, continue to fuel speculations about the appearance of yet another player on the scene. While denials are the order of the day for now, Ms Nawaz and her family cannot close their eyes to a change in the tide. The critical misdoings, both inside the camp and in the coveted office, have been actively disillusioning many in their inner circle for quite some time. Ranging from reservations on the official choice for a line of succession to an ugly clash of titans, there remains many a bone that needs to be picked. Yet, instead of giving a fleeting moment’s consideration to what is actually going in inside their kitchen, the party leadership appears far too overwhelmed with the affairs of the opposition. Whether you like it or not, Ms Sharif, any government that steps on the red carpet carrying the insignia of your Lahori Lion is your government and the repercussions of its actions would have to be borne by you in the court of people. For years, the ruling PML(N) made hay while the sun shone in Punjab; counting on the administrative brilliance of the then Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. If those success stories were theirs to toot the horn about, the grave nightmares the entire country is living day in and day out are also theirs to be responsible for. One cannot afford to cherry-pick affiliations in the world of politics. The dangerous game revolves around all or nothing. *